


remember me (the only hope for me)

by cherry_umbra



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - My Chemical Romance (Album)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Multi, Nonbinary Party Poison (Danger Days), Swearing, Tags Are Hard, Trans Fun Ghoul (Danger Days), blink and youll miss it jetpoison, oh kobra accidentally misgenders party one time but it gets resolved real quick, temporary memory loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24172369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherry_umbra/pseuds/cherry_umbra
Summary: Kobra gets rescued from the city, but he doesn't remember anything except one name. Luckily one of the people who dragged him out is the owner of the name.
Relationships: Fun Ghoul & Jet Star & Kobra Kid & Party Poison (Danger Days), Fun Ghoul/Kobra Kid (Danger Days), Kobra Kid & Party Poison (Danger Days)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49





	remember me (the only hope for me)

He doesn’t know how long he’s been strapped to this chair. He doesn’t know much, for that matter. All he  _ does _ know is that he needs to get out, and find the owner of the name he had clung onto like it was the only thing keeping him alive.

Party Poison.

It doesn’t feel like his name, feels like something he would call out. When he thinks of it, a small wave of  _ calm _ and  _ safety _ washes over him. He doesn’t know (well, more like  _ remember _ ) how he knows this person, but he’s sure they’re important.

There’s shouting down the hallway from his room, and then a  _ burst _ of color is slamming the door open and rushing to his side, pulling a knife out and ripping away his bonds. And then he’s being pulled up and, oh boy, his legs do  _ not _ agree with running after not moving for… a week? A month?

He ignores the pain in his legs, and instead focuses on the person tugging him along. Just their wrist has more color than anything he’s seen in his time in that room (aside from his own clothes). The person is wearing bracelets of all kinds, big rubber ones and thin wires with small beads, a rainbow of braided string and what looks like a coiled up necklace. As they yank him down another hallway, turning a bit and shooting behind them, his eyes wander up, to their blue jacket and -

A bright beacon of red hair. Something small clicks and -

_ He’s leaning into someone’s side, staring into a small fire.  _

_ “You should sleep,” they say. _

_ He looked up, and their face was blurry in the way it could only be in half-forgotten memories. “You should too. I  _ know _ you haven’t slept much since the others left us behind.” _

_ The person shook their head, “Can’t sleep. But I know a certain someone who needs it.” At his blank stare, they sighed, “Fine. I’ll wake you up in a few hours so I can get a bit of shut-eye too.” _

_ He hummed, pleased, and settled down with his head in their lap. _

Okay. That was weird. No better time for a flashback than an escape in which they were being chased and shot at.

Sometime between when his brain dragged him back to out-of-context-memory city and now, they had gotten out of the hallway and into what he’s pretty sure is a maintenance tunnel. It was quiet, now, the only sounds being their slowing steps and their heaving breaths. The redhead released his hand and slumped against the grimy wall, putting their hands on their knees as they struggled to catch their breath. 

“Kobes - Kobra. You,” they coughed, “doin’ alright?”

His mouth moved faster than his brain, “Kobra. That's my name?” 

Kobra could see the exact moment the stranger’s train of thought derailed.

“Shit. We gotta - gotta get out. Radio don’ work down here, but last I checked in Jet ‘n Ghoul were almost here.”

“Who…”

“You’ll remember eventually. Let’s go.”

The stranger grabbed his hand, and they trudged down the tunnel. 

It was silent for what felt like an eternity, before they walked by a door and the person kicked it open, pulling him up the stairs.

They popped out in… another tunnel. But this one had a bright light at the end of it.

“Come on, Dracs are still on the hunt. Gotta run.”

And that was that. The person took off, though this time a lot slower, and he hurried to catch up. The light was getting brighter, blinding on the shiny white concrete of the tunnel. And warmer. It… felt good.

They stepped out into the sun, and it felt like a whole new world. There was shouting all around, and a sense of déjà vu as a car skidded to a stop next to them and a door was flung open. The person shoved him forward, shooting at something, and he tumbled into the backseat, them following. The door to the car slammed shut, and the driver, a man with curly brown hair, stomped on the gas. The redhead leaned over him and out one window, and the guy in the passenger seat leaned out the other. It was all Kobra could do to hang on for dear life as the car swerved around, avoiding shot after shot as they made their getaway.

Eventually, both people leaning out the window slumped back into their seats and the driver took his foot off the petal.

“I’ll be the one to break the ice,” the person in the passenger’s seat drawled, turning slightly to look at him and the person next to him, “how bad did they mess with my boyfriend?”

Kobra’s eyes shot up, but the redhead answered first, “Doesn’ even remember his own name.”

“Oh,  _ joy _ .”

The blond cleared his throat, and all eyes snapped to him. “I… do remember one thing.”

“Do tell,” 

“It’s someone else’s name, Party Poison, I think it was.”

The redhead jumped slightly in their seat, the start of a smile on their lips, “Lucky for you, I know who that is. Me.”

Oh. That felt right. “So you’re the guy -”

“Not a guy,” Party said, a hint of disappointment in their voice, “not a girl either. Use they/them.”

“Oh, sorry.”

Party shrugged and pointed at the driver, “That’s Jet Star, but just use Jet. The rat in the seat next to him is Fun Ghoul, Ghoul for short.”

Those names felt familiar on his tongue, felt safe. 

Jet started the engine again, and Party curled up in their seat, leaning against the door and closing their eyes.

Kobra could use a nap too.

~~

He didn’t know how much time had passed when he woke up, very noticeably  _ not _ in the car anymore. But it had to be at least a few hours, ‘cause when he looked up, the remnants of a sunset were leaking through the boarded up window of the room.

This place… it felt like  _ home _ . Maybe it was.

He splayed his arms a bit, feeling the soft blanket beneath him, and noticing that someone had taken off his jacket and shoes. 

Soft voices were coming from outside, along with the clinking of metal on metal.

Kobra stood up, stumbling a bit due to the aching in his legs and dizziness from standing too fast. 

The others were sitting at one of the two tables that were still fully intact, chatting and eating by the gentle glow of a candle on its last legs. Jet snapped his head over in his direction when he heard the door open, and smiled.

“It’s alive!” Ghoul shouted, waving his fork in the air. His grin was brighter than the sun, as he patted the spot next to him.

Kobra shuffled over, sitting down. From the corner of his eye, he could see Ghoul’s smile falter a bit at how much space was between them. Party slid over a can with a white label, the lid popped open with a fork stuck in the contents.

It smelled… awful. And, yup, tasted even worse.

What he wasn’t expecting was the laughter of the aforementioned ‘joys.

“Do you eat this on a daily basis?” he coughed, spitting whatever  _ it _ was into the napkin Jet threw at him.

“Oh come  _ on _ , Kobra! It’s only dog food! Y’know, the stuff you said tasted great burnt with ketchup on it?” Ghoul giggled. At that remark, he and Party’s laughter doubled in volume, and even Jet was joining in, though you really had to strain to hear him over the noise of the others.

Their warmth settled in his stomach like melted chocolate, and minutes turned into hours of sharing stories of all the mishaps that were locked away in his brain. 

~~

What was that saying? Before it gets better it gets worse? Something to that effect, and Kobra would like very much to punt the person who made it in the face for being  _ so damn accurate _ .

It started when he woke up in the middle of the night, feeling cold but burning hot and coughing up a lung as Ghoul held him up, muttering about something he couldn’t hear over the roaring in his ears as whatever he was on in the city got thrown out of his systems. That cost him about 2 hours worth of sleep. And then waking up every other hour because of flashes of memories wrapped in dreams making him feel like a stranger in his own body. Those were his hands, his voice, in those scenes but it didn’t feel like  _ him _ , like he was put in someone else’s body and being relayed all the things they did.

So to say he felt like he had gotten hit by a speeding car the next morning would be an understatement.

Kobra hissed at the bright light from the diner’s windows as he stepped out of (what he found out was) his and Ghoul’s shared room. The short man was nowhere in sight, but he could hear voices from the kitchen.

Party was sitting on the counter, their head in their hands, and Jet was sitting next to them, an arm slung around their shoulders. The blond hid behind what was left of a broken down fridge, listening.

“- what you did when you got back?” 

“That’s the thing, Jet, I… I don’t  _ know _ . Most’a the time it was, well,  _ time _ that brought my memories back after being carted off by BL/ind. The one time it wasn’ was because of Kobes.”

“What did he do?”

“It was right before we booked it outta the city, on my 17th birthday. He pulled me aside, tried talking t’ me, and when that didn’ work, he started cryin’, and I guess my head was filled with such a sense of  _ wrong _ that it snapped me outta it.”

“Maybe we could try and figure out what would work for him?”

At Party’s shrug, he sighed, and slid off the counter. “Me ‘n Ghoul are going to the market today, do you -”

“ _ No _ .” Party’s voice seemed to drop an octave, and they snapped their head up. “It’s my fault in the first place he got taken. No way in hell am I leaving him alone again.”

“Pois, there’s nothing you could -”

“Oh yes there was! I knew something was fishy, but I let him go by himself anyway! What’s our number one rule? Don’t go alone. And what did I do? Leave my baby brother to the wolves.”

Kobra gasped, and slapped a hand over his mouth.  _ The name he fought to remember was his sibling’s _ .

They jumped off the counter, pushing past Jet. “You two go. ‘Sides, I’m not feelin’ too good anyway.”

The door to their room closed with a  _ bang _ .

Jet sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, before walking out to find Ghoul.

Kobra just sat there in shock. Part of him knew what to do to comfort his sibling, but that part was locked away with layers of walls and locked doors. Maybe he should just -

No. He may not remember what to do, but being there was better than letting them suffer alone. Somehow he knew that they had, so, so many times.

He could hear the sound of the Trans AM starting up outside, but he ignored it in favor of striding over to Party’s shared room. His fist was raised to knock on the door, but before he could, he heard a grumbled “come in”.

… Well then.

Kobra gently pushed the battered door open, stepping in before closing it behind him. Party was curled up on their ‘nest’, one of Jet’s spare jackets thrown over them. He sat down a little bit away, pulling his knees to his chest.

There was a few minutes of silence, before Party turned to face him, slightly wincing.

“... wanna know why Jet ‘n I have a seperate room?” they asked.

He shrugged, and they smiled a bit. “I’m sure you noticed, but Ghoul snores loud enough t’ wake the dead. You could probably sleep through the apocalypse, I can’t, and Jet’s worse than me. When,” Party winced again, curling one hand into a fist onto their chest, “you ‘n I first met Ghoul, we were all in the same room. But I couldn’t sleep, so after the first week I moved somewhere else. Could still hear him, but it wasn’ as bad. When we brought Jet in, it only took me tellin’ him that Ghoul snores for him to ask me to share a room.”

Kobra hummed, picking at a fray in his jeans, “I… heard you and Jet before. Are you sick?”

“You could say that,” they chuckled. At his head tilt, they continued, “Some days just take too much to get through. Mentally and physically. And sometimes,” they reached a hand out, and Kobra uncoiled enough to let them poke him in the middle of his chest, “I get a lot of pain in here, and I don’t really do much ‘cause of it, y’know? Jet calls it… somethin’ starting with ‘f’, I call it a pain in my ass.”

“Like right now?” he asked, and they nodded. “Is there… anything I can do?”

“Not really. Hold my hand?”

He did, and they sat together until they heard Jet and Ghoul return from the market. Party gave him a small smile, threw Jet’s jacket onto a precarious tower of clothes, and stood up.

That night, he dreamed of two brothers running away from the city with nothing but each other.

~~

The next morning was considerably better than the last, and he was finally let out of the diner. Though it was only a small ride out with Ghoul to test his new explosives. 

They took out what Kobra realized was his bike, though Ghoul was the one driving. He’s pretty sure he’s never feared for his life more than that moment.

After about an hour, they arrived at an area somewhere in Zone 5, the ground burnt and uneven with more holes than cheap cheese. The grin Ghoul shoots at him before running off with a box in his hands is brighter than the sun. The shorter man runs off, planting the bomb a fair bit off, before running back.

“Would you like to do the honors, my snake?” he asks, holding out the detonator.

Kobra takes it, looking at it confused, before pressing the biggest red button.

“Oh, shit, you might wanna cover your -”

Ghoul’s warning is a bit late, as the mine goes off before he can finish, but he tackles Kobra to the ground as it shakes and pebbles fly.

The blond rapidly blinks his eyes, trying to will the spots in his vision away, and when his vision finally clears, he sees Ghoul hovering worriedly over him. There’s something about his eyes that -

_ “Ain’t this romantic?” Ghoul asked, splayed out on the blanket they were supposed to share. It was a nice night, for once, and the moon and stars kept things bright. Kobra hummed, flopping down with his head on Ghoul’s stomach, smirking at his slight “oof”. _

_ “I think so, even if  _ somebody’s _ hoggin’ the blanket,” he responded, turning slightly. _

_ “Well,” Ghoul shuffled to lean back up on his elbows and looked down at him, a  _ look _ in his eye, “you got my bony chest.” _

_ Kobra nuzzled their noses together, “I think that’s a fair trade.” _

“-obra! Earth to Kobra Kid!”

He blinks. 

Ghoul’s sitting next to him now, one hand on his shoulder and the other holding his chin, his face screaming nothing but  _ worry _ . 

Random flashbacks just have to happen at the worst times, don’t they?

“‘m fine. Just… spaced out for a minute there.”

“A minute? Kobra, you’ve been laying there for 10.”

Oh. Oops.

“Was it the explosion? Did -”

“No, no, nothing like that. It’s… embarrassing.”

Ghoul quirked an eyebrow, “Whatever you say, snake man.”

He stood up and dusted himself off, before offering a hand to Kobra. 

The blond tried to ignore the longing look in his eyes.

The rest of the afternoon was quiet, save for the sound of explosions.

~~

About a week passed, memories trickling in like water drops from a leaky faucet in a town during a drought. They were  _ there _ , just out of his grasp, but it wasn’t  _ enough _ .

He tried not to think about it.

Ghoul, in typical Ghoul fashion, was sick and Party hurt their ankle, so it was up to Jet and Kobra to attempt to find medicine.

After what happened last time, Jet had told him as they climbed into the Trans AM, they weren’t going anywhere near a Neutral town. Tommy was basically sold out the minute word of him having restocked got out, but thankfully one of the travelling markets was in Zone.

They had set up near a small base near the edge of Zone 4, the small tents sticking out like sore thumbs. Jet guided him over to one with little plus signs sewn all over the top. While Jet was bartering with the lady behind the table, Kobra turned to gaze out over the rest of the market and base. There was an old laundromat and what was probably once a post office near the center, all the other buildings being a hodgepodge of materials and varying in quality. A few rebels were milling about, even a few kids, doing the most they could before it got too hot.

Jet tapped on his arm and held up a bag, and they walked back to the Trans AM. After a few minutes, he shuffled his jacket off, somehow managing to not start swerving in the process.

“See, the thing with Ghoul when he’s sick is,” Jet cleared his throat, “that you basically have to have a knife to his neck in order to get him to take  _ anything _ , even food and water at times, and…”

But Kobra wasn’t paying attention to what he was saying. His eyes had snapped to a scar on Jet’s right arm. Something about it -

_ “You know I didn’t mean anything that I said, right? About you and Party?” _

_ They were alone, hiding out in some old shack for the night. Jet had gotten a bad slash on his arm during a clap, and now that they weren’t running for their lives, Kobra was finally able to patch it up. _

_  
__“Yeah, yeah, the whole protective sibling thing.” The brunet nodded, and dragged a hand down his face, trying (and failing) to will his headache away._

_ “I mean, kind of. It’s just… Party’s always been lookin’ out for me, always putting me as their top priority. And… almost always getting hurt ‘cause of it. I just want them to be happy, y’know?” _

_ Jet didn’t say anything, just gave him a smile and ruffled his hair. _

They were back at the diner.

“You pass out there, Kobes?”

“Oh, shit, yeah, I guess.” That was an easier explanation than spacing out with a random memory.

Jet chuckled, ruffling his hair, “Now if you don’t mind me, I have a Ghoul to go wrestle down.”

“Sounds fun. I’ll help,” was said with only a bit of sarcasm.

~~

Another week had passed. And another. And almost nothing had come back since that bit with Jet in the car.

Until one day.

Party was standing in the kitchen, Kobra on the counter next to them, fiddling with a stubborn can of tomatoes.

“Damnit, an axolotl would have a fuckin’ easier time openin’ this than me…”

It hit him then like a bag made of chain mail full of bricks. 

Party wasn’t expecting to be tackle-hugged, nearly falling over and smacking their head against the floor.

“The hell, Kobes? Was it ‘bout to explode or somethin’?” they said, trying to get a grip on their brother, wrapped around them like some off-brand koala.

Another thing they weren’t expecting was for him to nuzzle his face into their neck and ruffle  _ that one spot _ in their hair. 

“Holy shit, are…?” the tears were beginning to gather in their eyes. He nodded. They laughed, the loud, boisterous one they normally did when something close to a miracle happened. And he knew because he  _ remembered _ .

“The fuck are you…” it was Ghoul, walking backwards with one end of the table he and Jet were in the middle of fixing, Jet coming into view a moment later with the other. When he saw the scene in the kitchen, he dropped his end of the table and ran over, Jet following a moment afterward, and crushing them into a hug.

The Kobra Kid was home.

**Author's Note:**

> come scream at me on tumblr @eclipsed-calderas
> 
> aannd its done! this is the longest thing i've ever written at once. also to explain a bit, its a joke between the venom sibs about axolotls doing things and that's what brings his memories back
> 
> comments + kudos are appreciated!


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